Scott Gulbransen
The Max Verstappen contract saga is not going away, and this weekend’s Austrian Grand Prix could be a pivotal moment in how it gets resolved.
According to a report published Wednesday by RacingNews365, Verstappen is set to continue talks this weekend at the 2026 Austrian Grand Prix as Red Bull seeks more clarity over his F1 future.
Max Verstappen’s Tricky Contract Situation
The four-time world champion is technically under contract until the 2028 season, but performance-related exit clauses have left his future beyond the current season in doubt. Those clauses have been the source of the internal tension between the two sides, according to reports dating to last season. Red Bull wants them gone, or at least weakened, and Verstappen hasn’t given them an answer yet.
Verstappen’s reservations about the sport’s current direction have been well-documented. The Dutchman has called his own future into question on numerous occasions, citing frustrations around the expanding sprint race calendar and the new technical regulations introduced this year. Neither of those things is going away anytime soon, which makes the path to a new deal or extension a little more complicated than a simple contract negotiation.
The two sides have already met to discuss the issues this season. Verstappen, with his management, paid a visit to Austria just before the race in Barcelona, where they met with senior members of the energy drinks company. But nothing was settled.
Red Bull Focus: Buy Out Verstappen’s Exit Clause
RacingNews365 reports that key team figures will be on the ground this weekend at the Austrian Grand Prix, the squad’s home race, including Red Bull co-owners Mark Mateschitz and Chalerm Yoovidhya. The publication’s sources indicate that if no deal is struck before Friday, further conversations are highly likely over the race weekend itself.
At the core of the negotiation is a straightforward request from Red Bull. A significant part of the talks centers on the team potentially buying out the deal’s exit clause, ensuring Verstappen can’t trigger it going forward. The motivation isn’t purely sentimental. Red Bull sees it as a key to attracting engineering talent in the paddock to join and work alongside the four-time world champion and it would provide a much-needed morale lift to a team that has struggled through the early portion of the 2026 season.
Verstappen, for his part, hasn’t closed any doors publicly. Asked about the discussions at the Spanish Grand Prix earlier this month, he kept it simple: “If there is anything new about what I’m doing, I will let you know.”
Red Bull’s home race starts this weekend. Watch F1 on Apple TV in the United States.
Questions on Max Verstappen’s Contract Status with Red Bull:
That remains unresolved. Red Bull is actively pushing for Verstappen’s commitment, but no agreement has been reached as of the 2026 Austrian Grand Prix weekend.
Verstappen has not announced a departure, but performance-related exit clauses in his contract — which runs through 2028 — have created genuine uncertainty around his future beyond the current season.
Red Bull is in active talks with Verstappen and his management, with a key focus on buying out the exit clauses in his existing deal to secure a longer-term commitment from the four-time world champion.
Verstappen has publicly expressed frustration with the expanded sprint race calendar and the new 2026 technical regulations, leaving the door open on whether he intends to see out his contract.
